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Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Canadians vs Germans in Afrika.. Battle Report Bolt Action

So I have begun yet another Bolt Action army.. this time though I want something a bit different.. or at least painted differently and with actual squad markings throughout the army. For this I have chosen the mighty might Canadians! A commonwealth county that fought alongside the British in many encounters throughout Europe and such.

After being told repeatily that the Canadians have not fought within Afrika, I decided to do just that.. take them to Afrika and see how they would do up against the DAK stationed there by a club mate.

A simple 9 order dice list. With the SAS to go outflank ( 1 per side ) and the rest to see how they would do in the middle. I can say that one of the major issues with this list is the lack of mobility, and considering how our board was set up ( for Afrika ) we didn't have a ton of cover to hide in as we would advance towards the enemy. And the DAK were set up for a longer reach than I was.

Mission was Anniliation, so it came down to kill them all.

This is how the end of Turn 1 looked like. My Ghurkas and the full Infantry unit going up the left. My HQ, Observer, and other infantry in the middle. Supported by the AEC. And my Crusader hoping to use the mountain in the middle as a way to hide and pop round later.

There was not much in the way of shooting as most were behind cover, and out of short range. So most shooting was done on 7s here.

The DAK had placed a unit to my left, MMG a bit off center. The Halftrack there was carrying a mortar and medic. The armored car sitting nearby, while his AT booys were making a bee-line up my right flank. With some support from some infantry. All of his units were Veteran though, with just the tanks being regular. Whereas I only have the SAS and Ghurkas as vets.

I was lucky on dice pulls to get my Observer out last, so that he could set up for a shot on their side. I did attempt to make it to push the enemy either to the right of that furthest mountain, or to come closer to me for a charge. Seems it worked, though there is always the fear that it will go awry on me and come back on my side. Especially if sent too close to my troops.

Turn 2 sees my troops moving up. Mostly to see if I can some things off.. My Observer used up my first dice to lay down his artillery shot where I had planned, and the rest of the troops moved up the hill to begin to take up position here.

I was still not getting any real hits off.. my AEC was able to hit, but failed to do any damage due to a low PEN roll. His return fire missed as well.

The Crusader was moving ever slowly forward, and failing to do anything to anyone throughout. With the infantry behind trying, and failing, to shoot at the now carfefully postitioned mortar unit on the top of the middle hill. Though I am liking the painted up troops in this photo above, and it is working for me on how the colors came out! Success for me on that end at least!

No overhead shot for Turn 2 it seems.. weird.. but not surprising I guess..

Turn 3 sees us beginning to bring in the outflanks. My Right flank SAS came in first, and did a good number on the infantry squad there. Being that they were all in Point Blank Range to the SMG squad, I was able to to take them to half strength. Though the return fire from both the squad and the boys AT rifle would see me put to half strength.

On the left flank, I made a critical error. I brought in the SAS too early.. and in front of a unit in Ambush! Need to see what I am doing prior to doing the actions it seems! Lost half the unit to their shooting, and to the Tank that popped up behind me as well!

Not a view that one would like to be in, unless you are the DAK player! Didn't help none that I was also out of range to retaliate after the ambush attack!

My Crusader had finally sneaked up and around the middle mountain, only to fail his shooting on such a good location! Arghhh.. and the MMG failed to do anything to the MMG team in the ruins to his left as well!

As we can see at this point the power of the painted army was doing much better than that of the grey primer and unprimed alike...

Turn 4 saw some casualties finally mounting up. First blood going to the DAK for taking out my Observer and biker unit. Then also the SAS on the left being punched a new one.

On my right flank however the SAS were able to charge and kill the infantry, while the AT boys looked on.

A major clash would begin to mount on top of the central mountain. A full unit of 10 vs the mortar unit in shooting, along with the HQ unit to back them up. Mounting up some pins, but noting major.

The other troops and AEC would pin out the Scout car. A point made by the DAK player in that he should not have taken an open topped vehicle here with so much shooting available. While the transport would attempt to shoot the Ghurkas that have been making their way towards the MMG team, and placing a pin on them. With another from the MMGs, but no casualties as yet ( go vets! ).

I had hoped that the Ghurkas would have done better, but I was failing to see their charm.. though at the same point they were not in close combat yet...

Turn 5 we see the mortar get taken out, the AT boys get taken out, and the Half track and Medic taken out. Though not from the crusader there, but from the AEC ( which is fast becoming my favourite scout car ).

On my left flank the DAK moved up and began to position himself to secure and deny me from getting too much on that side.. but this was when I had to remind my opponent of the Up and At 'Em rule that was in effect here. Although my Ghurkas were pinned ( 3 or 4? ) due to this rule they could still assault! And his lieutenant had gotten to within 12 to be able to shoot his SMG at them! Poor move, that cost him the HQ unit, and soon the infantry behind them.

Turn 6 just saw mopping up actions taking place.. his tank shelling the Ghurkas, but them holding steadfast. But they also took out the infantry unit before they even had a chance to hit back. Though their shooting prior to the charge was not as effective as they would have hoped.

My infantry units were mostly milling about, and trying to hide from his guns to reduce casualties overall. And my Crusader would attempt a 90 degree pivot to no avail.

We did roll and got a 7th turn, but not much happened within it. Hit tank survived, his MMG team survived, and my units all held.

In the end, the Canadians had secured a Victory of 8 pts to 2. A heavy loss for the Germans against the Canadians first outings, but they realized what they needed to turn that tide. More howitzers. Less open topped vehicles. And to sit back with more guns waiting for the Canadians to get lured into the traps set by the Germans.

For me, I really need to get those M3s assembled ( further ) and the RAM. The transport to get some of the troops up faster is very much required here. Far too slow to do what is needed here. That and some artillery is also required.

I am happy to announce that my Canadian Maple Leaf marked dice are finally warming up to me, and in the second half of the game they began to perform! This may sound superstitious, but having seen how poorly they performed with my USMC game the other day, I have to say that they hold some truth. They will now become a central part of my army ( as was the plan ) and should hopefully treat the army well moving forward!

Now to get back to painting these guys up, and seeing how I will do the tanks especially. More research required, as I do not want a simple sand colored scheme if I can avoid it. So maybe something with some green tossed in to break up the monotomy within it.